National Sports

Klay Thompson torches Bulls again in Warriors 146-109 win

January 12, 2019

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Curry joined some elite company on a list that he figures to top in the not-so-distant future.

Curry made five 3-pointers to move into third place all-time in NBA history behind Ray Allen and Reggie Miller, and the Golden State Warriors rolled past the Chicago Bulls 146-109 on Friday night in their most lopsided win of the season.

Curry moved past Jason Terry with back-to-back 3s early in the third quarter and ended a 28-point night with 2,285 3-pointers in his career, trailing only Allen (2,973) and Miller (2,560). Curry saved the game ball and hopes to get it autographed by Allen and Miller, players he called trendsetters when it comes to long-range shooting.

"Obviously I want to catch them and put together many more years at this pace," Curry said. "But just knowing that those two guys are right in front of me, for sure. I respect the game and I respect what guys have done before and those two guys are guys I've looked up to."

Curry already holds the single-season record of 402 made 3s in 2015-16 and has moved into third place despite playing in more than 600 fewer games than Allen and Miller. It figures to be only a matter of time before the 30-year-old Curry surpasses those two and takes the mark to a whole new level.

"We all know he's going to break the record," teammate Kevin Durant said. "He sets such a high standard and a high bar. It is cool, but he has another season or two until he gets to the No. 1 spot and then he'll shatter that record, so I'll wait for that."

Curry wasn't even the most dangerous long-range shooter on his own team in this game as Klay Thompson picked up where he left off on his record-setting night in Chicago earlier this season by making seven more 3-pointers and scoring 30 points.

Thompson set an NBA mark in the first meeting between the teams on Oct. 29 by hitting 14 3-pointers as part of a 52-point night while playing only the first three quarters. He made three from long range in the first 70 seconds of the rematch and the rout was on.

"That was incredible," coach Steve Kerr said. "Unbelievable start for him. It was a great first quarter, obviously set the tone."

The Warriors took a double-digit lead after just 2:19 and the Bulls never got the game back within single digits. Jonas Jerebko banked in a 3-pointer from beyond half court at the end of the first quarter to give Golden State a 43-17 lead that grew to 44 points in the third quarter.

Durant added 22 for the Warriors, his 15th straight game with at least 20 points.

Zach LaVine scored 29 points to lead the Bulls, who couldn't overcome the poor start and lost their sixth straight game.

"I don't know if we were watching them, in awe fearful," coach Jim Boylen said. "I don't know what it was. We talked about it and I thought we came out in the second quarter and played better. We did respond. But we were just following them around to start the game and that was a little bit too respectful. I am disappointed in that."

TIP-INS

Bulls: Chicago had its largest first-quarter deficit in franchise history. ... The Bulls allowed 18 3-pointers and made only nine. They have given up 103 more 3-pointers than they've made this season, the worst differential in the league. ... G Kris Dunn finished with a minus-45 rating. ... G Bobby Portis was on a 28-minute limit in his third game back from an ankle injury, but played less than 17 with the game out of hand early. He scored 16 points.

Warriors: The 26-point lead after the opening quarter was the biggest for the Warriors since they led Sacramento by 30 points on Nov. 2, 1991. ... Thompson's 21 3-pointers in two games vs. Chicago are tied for the most in one season against the Bulls with the 21 made by Antoine Walker in four games in 2001-02. ... Thompson is averaging 27.7 points over his last six games.

UP NEXT

Bulls: Visit Utah on Saturday.

Warriors: Visit Dallas on Sunday.

___

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBAbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports